


Inescapable

by inwardtransience



Series: Back Burner [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Female Harry Potter, Gen, Powerful Harry, Slytherin Harry Potter, Worldbuilding, gods and magic, missed the canon plot three exits ago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 20:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15057254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inwardtransience/pseuds/inwardtransience
Summary: One day, Lily met a god. Things got weird from there.





	Inescapable

Lily didn't know what to do. She was so  _angry_.

She'd known Severus existed for a couple years, but she'd never really payed that much attention to him. He was just there. Other kids made fun of him for the honestly kinda silly clothes he always wore, that he was all tiny and scrawny and kinda dirty a lot. Lily never had though. She was pretty sure his family was poor. So none of that was his fault. She didn't think it was fair to be mean to someone for something they couldn't control.

It wasn't until a few months ago that she'd started paying attention to him at all. She'd been in the playpark, rather late, with her sister. She'd noticed they were alone, no one else was around, so she'd decided to mess around with magic. She'd been able to make things happen forever, her parents said, though it wasn't until she was...five? Five-ish, around then she figured out how to do it on purpose. She couldn't do a lot, but it was fun to play with. Mum and Dad had told her not to do it where anyone could see, and playing around with it in public always made Tuney really nervous, even if nobody was around, but it was too fun not to do it sometimes.

And Severus just had to spot her playing around! Silly boy had been hiding in the bushes. That was such a...such a... Well, something that began with a "k" sound, anyway, forgot the word. French-sounding. But it turned out he was magic too! He couldn't do as many things as she could, and trying to copy some of the big things she could do gave him a headache sometimes, but he was still magic. It was cool meeting another magic kid. She'd been wondering if she might be the only one.

It hadn't taken very long for her to figure out Severus's dad was  _mean_. Very mean. He was not a nice man. She'd told her parents about it, and Dad had helped her write an "anomynous tip" to the police. Amonynous? Anoniny... Whatever. Anyway, she'd sent the thing. One day she'd seen a police car drive up in front Severus's house down the block and she'd nearly been bouncing with happiness.

Well, not  _nearly_ , she guessed. Her magic was funny like that.

But nothing happened! They just talked a bit and left! And the next day, Severus didn't show up at school! Or the day after! And when she finally saw him one afternoon he...he had  _bruises!_

No. This was unacceptable.

But she didn't know what to do!

So here she was, down by the creek under her favourite maple tree, just glaring at the water. Sometimes turning to punch the tree behind her — with magic, not her fists, that would hurt. She'd set some of the grass on fire a couple times on accident, it was hard to hold it in. And her chest hurt and her head hurt and she felt so  _helpless_  and she  _hated_  it and she was trying not to cry, but she didn't think she was doing very well.

He was a  _bad man!_  He should— He should—

She didn't know, really. Something bad. He was hurting Severus, and he was hurting Missus Snape, and no one was  _doing anything_  about it, and that was  _not okay_.

'Mm, no, it isn't.'

With a kinda embarrassing squawk, Lily jumped, whirled around to face the way the voice had come from. And then just stared, only half-aware her mouth was hanging open.

She looked like a girl. Maybe a year or two older than her, not by very much, a little bit taller, her clear face slightly tanned, solid black hair in a long plait down her back, flickering dark eyes. She was dressed slightly weird, but not too weird, Lily guessed. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt a deep red and trousers black, both made out of a smooth shiny cloth, hanging a bit loosely off her, leather boots a dark brown. Kinda weird, because that was sort of tomboyish, Lily thought might be the word, but she had a clipping from some plant twisted into a ring around her head, vivid green leaves and bright white flowers, which was so  _not_  boyish at all.

But...she didn't feel right. Lily didn't know what it was. It was...like trying to look at the sun, but knowing it was too bright and you couldn't, like standing too close to a fire, so warm it hurt. But it wasn't exactly that. It was in that part of her that could feel it when Severus did magic, or when she put her own magic inside of something else. But stronger than anything she'd felt before, like there was  _more_  of it...

Lily completely forgot she'd been busy being angry a second ago.

The not-girl gave her a crooked smile, teeth winking perfectly white. 'Now, now, Lily. Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to stare?'

She guessed she should be embarrassed, but she was too distracted. A few questions ran through her mind in rapidfire, competing with each other to get out first, until she blurted out, 'What are you?' Yep, that was rude.

'That's a story for another day, I'm afraid. Who knows, I might explain someday, but that's not what I'm here for now.'

Lily blinked. Not what she'd guess someone would say to that question. 'What are you here for?'

The not-girl's smile grew wider, turned sharp. With hard fire in her eyes, she said, 'He is hurting Severus, he is hurting Missus Snape. And nobody is doing anything about it.' She walked a little closer to Lily, her steps too light and smooth, like she wasn't quite there, wasn't as solid as she looked. 'It is  _not_  okay.' And the not-girl leaned closer to Lily, far too close, until their faces were only a few inches apart, the flickering in her eyes turning orange and red, Lily couldn't look away. 'He is a bad man. He should... He should...' Her head tilted a bit to the side, eyebrow lifting a little, though kinda hard to tell from this close. 'He should  _what_ , child? Hmm?'

Lily wanted to back away. She was too bright, and too hot, and it...well, not  _hurt_ , exactly. It was just...a lot. Like she was filled with too much of something that wasn't normally there, and it was bouncing, and giggling, and she could barely breathe, getting all dizzy. Not good. No idea what was happening.

Those flowers in her hair were really quite silly.

After a few seconds, it was weirdly hard to think right now, she got back to the question she'd been asked. And about that, had the not-girl been reading her mind or something? Creepy. She didn't have to think about the question very long. That too-much-something that was in her squeezed, and she felt her chest go all tight, and she was filled with fire, and she just felt so  _angry_. Her voice a low hiss, forced through her teeth, she said, ' _He should hurt.'_

She felt like she should feel bad for thinking it. But she didn't. He was hurting people, people that he should love, but he didn't, because he was  _stupid_ , and  _mean_ , and  _terrible_. He wasn't going to stop on his own, that was obvious. So  _he_  should be hurt, and maybe then he would stop.

And if he still wouldn't stop, maybe he had to  _be stopped_.

'Would you like me to help you make him stop?'

Lily's eyes went wide, and for long moments she could only stare at the not-girl. Was... Was she really saying what Lily thought she was saying? That was sort of... Well, she guessed the not-girl was really strong, she could feel that. At least, she was pretty sure that's what she was feeling. Mister Snape was a big bloke, and there wasn't anything Lily could do to him on her own. Maybe she could get lucky with magic, but both Severus and Missus Snape were magic, and they'd never been able to do anything. But the not-girl might be different. Maybe she could actually help!

The flowers were still silly though.

The not-girl raised one eyebrow a bit at that, her sharp smile tipping into more of an unhappy smirk. 'Yes, yes, the flowers are silly. My mother slaps something like this on me whenever she sees me. Says I need to get in touch with my feminine side. She can be a pain.'

Well, okay, that was weird. 'They are pretty, though. Just, kinda...'

The smirk shifted a bit, lips pressing together and to the side in an odd little quirk, and Lily had the feeling the not-girl was trying not to laugh at her. 'Thank you, Lily, that's  _very_  sweet of you.'

The not-girl made her feel really weird just being around, but Lily still found herself beaming. 'You're welcome!'

The not-girl smirked some more, shaking her head to herself very slightly. 'Do you want to go help your friend?' Lily nodded. 'All right. Hold on to your hat.'

Before she could stop herself, she said, 'I'm not wearing a hat.' She wanted to slap a hand over her mouth — she couldn't believe she'd said that! That was so stupid! It wasn't her fault though! The magicky something around the not-girl was making her silly, she couldn't help it...

At least the not-girl didn't say anything, didn't react any more than her lips twitching a little. She leaned slightly away again, so she was not quite so crazy close. And then, suddenly, the world went black. All black, totally black, darker than any night, as though everything had just popped away. Except for the not-girl, who was still standing right in front of her, and looking kinda...glowy? It was weird. She barely even had time to take it in, wonder what was happening, when the world slid back into place.

And she found herself in a room she'd been in only once before: the sitting room at the Snapes'. Barely lit from sun through too-thick curtains, too-dim lamps not making up for it, the flickery light of the tele no good at all, the place dirty and the furniture all beaten up, and just all around not a very nice place.

And Mister Snape was in his armchair, all sharp-faced and mean-looking. The way his eyes focused on them when they suddenly appeared told Lily he hadn't been drinking today. Or, yet, at least. Letting out a noise of surprise, he started pushing to his feet, but the not-girl just gave him a glance and a slippy shimmery feeling of magic slipped over her and he fell back into the chair, like something heavy had fallen on him, forcing him down. By the mix of fear and anger on his face, the magic in the air, she probably wasn't imagining that. 'Don't mind us,' the not-girl said, sounding a little amused. 'No need to get up just yet.'

'Who the hell are you?' His eyes flicked to Lily, and she knew he knew her, but he ignored her for the not-girl. Made sense.

'Who I am isn't terribly important right now. What you have done is the issue of the evening. But, where are my manners? Starting before all parties are present, how rude of me.' The not-girl glanced at the sofa. Another shimmering of magic, without a sound and in an instant, blink and you'll miss it, Severus and Missus Snape were sitting there. 'There we are.'

Lily noticed the mostly-faded bruise on Missus Snape's neck, and twitched at the quick stab of fury in her own throat.

The two were looking very confused, but Missus Snape pulled herself together first. With speed Lily did not see coming, she jumped to her feet, ran to the bookshelf, reached into a thin box there, and whipped out a long, straight stick, whirling to point it at—

And the not-girl was standing right in front of her, her fingers around Missus Snape's wrist. Well, Lily knew it was the not-girl, but she didn't look the same anymore. She was taller, taller than Missus Snape even, and she could see enough curviness through her clothes Lily knew she was older. She was still wearing black and red trousers and shirt, in the same kind of cloth, but there was gold and silver thread running through it, spelling out what Lily knew had to be words, but she couldn't read them. The feeling of magic in the air was thicker, heavier, pounding against Lily's head hard enough she was getting dizzy, she thought she could almost see it, a flickering cloud surrounding her.

'Why, thank you for retrieving that.' The not-girl's voice was slightly different, deeper and thicker, close enough to the same it wasn't too weird. Just grown up. 'How thoughtful.'

Missus Snape just stared into the not-girl's eyes, her face turning very white, and let out a thin whimper. Lily could make out her knees shaking from here.

With another glance from the not-girl, Mister Snape was suddenly lifted out of his chair, flung in a flash over against a wall, hanging pinned with little fluttery magics. His mouth was moving, his chest rising and falling, and Lily was pretty sure he was yelling something, but she couldn't hear a thing. Hand still around her wrist, arm around her shoulders, the not-girl led Missus Snape in his direction. When she was in front of him, a couple steps away, the not-girl lifted her wrist until she was pointing the stick right at Mister Snape's chest. She leaned in, whispering into Missus Snape's ear, low and thin, but it somehow hung in the air enough Lily could still hear it. 'Do it.'

Missus Snape sent the not-girl a fearful glance, her hand twitching, all but frozen.

'Do it,' the not-girl whispered again, soft and friendly and encouraging. 'This sad, disgusting excuse for a man, he would deserve whatever you could possibly think to do to him. More than. Remember how he beats you, how he beats your son. You could end it in a moment.  _Kill him_.'

Missus Snape and Severus both jumped at that, and Lily could only stare at the not-girl. Not quite what she'd had in mind...

The not-girl didn't seem to notice, just kept whispering, her voice slightly heavier, slightly sharper. 'Remember how he rapes you, remember how he steals from you everything you were, until you are nothing but a weak, terrified animal cowering at his feet. Take it back.  _Do it_.'

For long seconds, Missus Snape just stared at her completely terrified husband, her hand shaking so hard Lily thought she'd drop her stick, tears starting to slide down her cheeks as Lily watched. Finally Missus Snape let out a long moan, her stick falling to clatter on the floor. 'I can't. I c-can't, Y-your Holi– I'm sorry, I can't, I'm sorry...'

Maybe she was just a bad person, but...Lily thought she would do it. If it were her.

Letting out soft shushing noises, the not-girl turned Missus Snape around in her arms, wrapping her up in a hug, a hand sliding down her hair. Which was weird, Lily hadn't seen that coming. It didn't look like Missus Snape did either, by the way she froze, looking far too tense and uncomfortable. 'Hush, child, it is no shame.' She walked Missus Snape back over to the sofa, gently set her back down to sitting next to Severus. 'I hadn't expected you would be able to bring yourself to do it,' she said, one hand softly stroking Missus Snape's cheek. 'But everyone in your position should be given the chance, I feel.' She gave Missus Snape a light, quick kiss on the forehead before pulling away.

Missus Snape seemed surprised out of her crying, staring up at the not-girl like she couldn't believe that had just happened. Lily couldn't blame her.

Though, she was kinda getting the feeling Missus Snape knew what the not-girl was. The way she had gone all weak and fluttery when the not-girl had changed shape like that, how she kept staring at her, and Lily was pretty sure she'd been about to call her "Your Holiness" before her crying had cut her off. But, Lily wasn't too surprised Missus Snape knew more magic stuff than she did — at least, Lily was assuming the not-girl was magic stuff. Missus Snape had magic parents, Severus said, had gone to magic school, a long time ago. Made sense.

The not-girl wasn't done. She turned to Severus. 'How about you, Severus?'

Missus Snape jumped at that, eyes wide, stared at the not-girl for a moment before shivering and looking away.

Severus just seemed more confused than anything. 'I can't... I don't...'

Head tilting a little, the not-girl reached a hand to the small of her back, and there was a click and a weird scraping sound, and she pulled a long, double-edged knife out from under her shirt. It was black, so black it almost seemed to glow with it, light shimmering off the edges, with little lines of gold twisting around the handle, making shapes down the blade Lily thought might be words again. 'Come on. Stand up.'

For a few seconds, Severus didn't do anything, staring with huge eyes at the not-girl, his mother, his father, back and forth. Then, biting his lip, he pushed himself up a little unsteadily, stood in front of the not-girl. At a nod from her, he slowly held out his hand, and the not-girl placed the handle in his palm, gently wrapped his fingers around it. Then, with a blink of soft white light, she was suddenly the younger girl Lily had first met, and her arm was around his shoulders, leading him around toward Mister Snape. Lily noticed Mister Snape was sliding down the wall a bit, his feet meeting the floor making his knees start bending up, more in reach for a kid with a knife.

Lily knew. She didn't have to watch the whole thing. Severus wasn't going to be able to do it. She could tell by how unsteady his steps are, how loose his fingers were on the handle, how he shrunk away from Mister Snape's eyes. He wouldn't be able to do it. She could tell.

And then it made sense.

Because, see, the not-girl hadn't needed Lily here to get in. Or get the Snapes together. Or do anything. She hadn't needed Lily here at all. But the not-girl was strong, and she was smart, and she might be using magic to cheat. How else had she known right where to go to find Mister Snape, where Missus Snape and Severus were to teleport them here?

Missus Snape hadn't been able to do it. And the not-girl had said she hadn't thought she would be able to.

Severus wasn't going to be able to do it either. She could tell.

It made sense.

_Would you like me to help you make him stop?_

This was why the not-girl had brought her with. She'd come to make sure Mister Snape stops. She hadn't thought Missus Snape or Severus would be able to do it. She needed  _Lily_  to kill him. That was why she was here.

'I'll do it.'

Everyone turned to look at her at once. Severus was looking at her like he'd never seen anything like her before, Missus Snape looked like she might start crying again. Mister Snape was an odd mix of scared and angry, but that wasn't new. And the not-girl was just smiling at her. A thin, calm smile. Like this was exactly what she'd expected, and she was pleased as anything. 'Come on, then, child.'

Lily walked up to the girl and Severus, feeling oddly...calm. She meant, she was about to kill someone. Shouldn't she care about that? She was pretty sure she was supposed to. But mostly, she just...

He was a  _bad man_. He was hurting Severus and Missus Snape, and he wasn't going to stop by himself. If he wasn't going to stop, then...then he had to  _be_   _stopped_. The police were supposed to, but they didn't, and nobody else was doing anything. She was sure everyone knew what was going on here, she couldn't be the only one to have noticed, but  _no one was doing anything_. Killing him was, well, it wasn't what she was thinking, but...

It would make him stop. That's what was important. Exactly how didn't matter. Severus and Missus Snape couldn't do it, so...she guessed she would. That was fine. But she would have thought before the idea of killing someone would have bothered her, and it really didn't. She would do it. She was about to do it. And she was okay with that. She wasn't happy about it, but she wasn't... She didn't know. There should be something, but there wasn't. It was just a thing, a thing she was about to do, and Severus and Missus Snape would be okay, she wouldn't have to worry anymore, she wouldn't have to feel so helpless and angry. She was okay with it.

She wondered if that said something about her.

Lily held out her hand, and Severus put his still holding the knife on hers. But he didn't let go. She could see his knuckles were white on the handle, she could feel him shaking just a little, and he was staring at her, the weirdest look on his face, mouth opening and closing like he wanted to talk, but couldn't figure out what to say. 'Lily, I...' He broke off, frowning down at the black...whatever the knife was made out of, and Lily almost thought he was about to cry.

'It's fine, Sev.' She was a little surprised her voice was so calm. With the way she felt all bouncy and tingly, with how her magic seemed to be boiling in that place that was sort-of-but-not-really in her chest, she kinda thought it wouldn't be. 'I'm okay with it. He needs to be stopped.'

An odd, shaky look coming over him, Lily almost thought he would hug her. But he just nodded, fingers unwrapping from around the knife, and walked over to his mother.

It was heavier than she thought it would be. Hard and smooth and heavy, but not so much it was hard to hold. A little big for her hand, maybe. Even as she had the thought, the weird girl slipped an arm around her shoulders — Lily shivered at the way her magic skipped and jumped inside of her, like it was... _happy_  — her hand coming to cover Lily's around the knife. Lily felt a flash of slippery magic, and the knife shrunk a bit, feeling almost fitted to her, perfectly welcoming her fingers. The girl directed her, slowly, smoothly, until she was standing right in front of Mister Snape, only a couple steps away.

'Take your time, sweet child,' the girl whispered in her ear. 'It is only we, here. There is no need to force yourself. The scales will balance in time, he will get what is his, even if you cannot deliver it. So be calm, and—'

The girl didn't finish the sentence. She broke off when Lily stabbed Mister Snape.

She'd aimed for his neck, because she kinda thought that would be easiest. And quickest. It didn't bother her, yeah, but it was still kinda gross. Trying not to think too much about what she was doing, she just took the knife and...pushed out. Fast. The black blade slipped into the skin of Mister Snape's neck, almost  _too_  easy, like a hot knife falling through butter. And Mister Snape jerked and choked, his throat twitching around the knife in her hand. Lily could just stare for a second, Mister Snape shivering with mouth working and eyes wide, clearly hurting really bad, but that magic still there, stopping him from making any noise.

She was snapped out of it when she felt a warm wetness touch her fingers, and she jerked away without thinking, bumping into the weird girl behind her. But she didn't let go of the knife first, it came with her. And blood was pouring down Mister Snape's chest, so  _much_  of it, and she could see inside the hole in his throat, and she couldn't hear anything, but she could see he was gasping, choking, strangled by his own blood, getting weaker and weaker as more and more ran out of him...

It didn't happen right away. It took a minute. But eventually Mister Snape stopped gasping, stopped twitching, and he went still, his eyes staring out unseeing. He was gone.

 _Good_. He  _should_  be gone. He... Severus and Missus Snape would be okay now. She stopped him. They'd be okay.

She didn't notice she'd dropped the knife until she heard it thump against the floor.

She'd killed him. She'd actually killed him.

She didn't notice anything going on around her, she didn't know how long. She only saw Mister Snape. She couldn't stop staring at his vacant eyes, the hole she'd put in his neck, the rivers of blood all down his body. She couldn't stop staring.

She was okay with this.

She wondered if that said something about her.

* * *

Much like the first time, Lily didn't notice her coming. One second, she was alone, set up at the dinner table, scribbling away at her homework. The next second, she wasn't.

It was the stranger again. That girl who'd helped her get rid of Mister Snape. She was sitting on the chair across the table, staring at her, face oddly blank. She looked exactly the same as Lily had last seen her, the same clothes, her hair parted exactly the same, the same circle of flowers on top. Her being in the room gave her that same feeling she got last time, that feeling she couldn't say exactly what it was like. Looking too close at the sun, standing too close to a fire. It wasn't unpleasant, not really. It was just a lot.

Lily wasn't sure how to feel about seeing her again. Last time had led to her killing someone. She'd had time to think about that, and... She didn't feel bad about it. Not really. But she felt bad about not feeling bad. If that made sense. She  _had_  killed someone. That was supposed to be wrong. Sure, Mister Snape had been a bad man, and in the few weeks since then, Severus had been...calmer. She wouldn't say happier, really, but less  _un_ happy. But she still... She thought she  _should_  feel bad about it. But she didn't. Which really made her wonder if she was bad. Only bad people are supposed to not feel bad about doing bad things. What else was she supposed to think?

And, well. She knew now. She was pretty sure she knew what the girl was. At least, Missus Snape had told her what  _she_  thought the girl was. And Missus Snape was the one who knew about magic stuff, so Lily would think she would be right. Even if her idea was... Well, it was a weird idea.

The girl didn't say anything for long seconds, so Lily spoke first. 'Hello, again.'

'Hello, Lily Evans.' The girl gave her a soft smile. It seemed almost sad, but not quite. Reassuring, maybe. 'It doesn't mean you're bad. One thing many people forget when talking of the morality of an act is to consider the motivation. Nothing is done in isolation, so everything must be viewed in its proper context.'

She was going to get right into it, then. Okay. It was slightly creepy she was reading Lily's mind, but she decided to not think about that for now. Instead she thought of what the girl said, frowning to herself a little. 'But people do bad things for what they think are good reasons all the time. That doesn't make them good things.'

The girl shrugged a little. 'Perhaps not  _good_ , necessarily. "Good" and "bad" are not the only options. Although, of course, you can't just take their stated motivation as gospel. Often, you will hear people say, "I had to do it," or "they deserved it," when they really  _didn't_  have to, and their victim really  _didn't_  deserve it. What the person doing the maybe bad thing  _says_  often isn't enough, you have to look at what actually happened. Right?'

'Yeah.' That made sense. If Mister Snape hadn't really been hurting Severus and Missus Snape at all, but they just said he did, then it really,  _really_  wouldn't have been okay to get rid of him. But she knew he had been. 'So Mister Snape deserved it, then?'

'Oh, yes.' The smile was gone, the girl's face turning cold and hard. Even the magic in the air was different, making Lily shiver. 'That man was broken and sick inside. He never would have changed, no matter what anyone did. If you hadn't stopped him, young Severus would have killed him eventually, in the end. When he was older, his magic closer to the surface, more powerful, more volatile. Tobias would have gone into one of his rages, and Severus would have met his rage with his own. And Tobias would not have survived it. And Severus would have been changed, he would have carried that black anger on his soul forever.'

The coldness, the slight heaviness in the air, both lifted away, and the girl was shrugging. 'I am of the opinion, personally, that there is nothing worse in this world than those who have power over others using their authority not to protect, not to nurture, but to torture, and brutalise. As far as I am concerned, such people deserve whatever misfortune befalls them, and should not be granted the honour of being mourned.'

Lily swallowed, the hard, merciless feel to the girl's voice making her a bit unsteady. Not that she thought she really disagreed. Those sorts of people  _were_  terrible. She wasn't sure if they deserved to all be killed, but they were definitely bad people. 'But I don't care.' The girl raised an eyebrow at her, so she said, 'I killed him, and I don't care. Shouldn't I care?'

'Did you enjoy it?'

At the easy, calm question, Lily just frowned. Well, no, she didn't  _enjoy_  it. She was relieved it was over, she guessed, but other than that. Mostly she'd just found the whole thing kinda...well, gross. There was blood all over, and she could see things in the hole she'd put in his throat she shouldn't have been able to, it just made her feel all wrong.

'There you go,' the girl said, smiling a little again. 'If you were a  _bad_  person, as you put it, you would have done it for the wrong reasons, and you would have enjoyed it. You would be looking to do it again. You did not, and you are not. You are not a bad person, Lily Evans. I'm inclined to think you are quite a good person. And people generally trust my opinion on this sort of thing.'

Lily had to think about that. And not about the Mister Snape, wondering if she was a bad person reason. She thought she could...maybe just trust the girl on that. For now. If Lily started killing more people or something, she'd have to think about it again, but for now, fine. It was that last comment. It made her think of what she'd learned. And then wondering, talking with Missus Snape and Severus about it a little, why exactly the girl had come. She could just ask, since the girl was here again. 'Why did you come? Why did you help?'

The girl was silent a long moment, just staring across the table at her, face empty. Finally, after what felt like almost a minute, but not really nearly that long, she said, 'Have you figured out who I am?'

She swallowed again. This was a scary topic. Because, she  _was_  pretty sure she knew, if not who,  _what_  the girl was, but it was a scary thought. She leaned over to her backpack, pulled out a book, a magical book Missus Snape had given her. She set the book on the table between them.

_Aspects of the Divine — A Brief History of Gods and Demigods in the West_

The girl smiled, just a little. 'Did Eileen decide on a guess of which one?'

Lily took in and out a slow breath, trying not to look too scared. The girl had just... Well, that meant... Apparently, Lily really  _was_  talking to a bloody goddess right now, and that was such a strange thought, and a  _scary_  thought, and she really didn't know how to feel about this. 'Ah. No.'

'Relax, Lily. If I'd wanted to harm you, I would have already.' Oh, well, of course. Didn't really make her feel better, but. Shaking her head to herself a little, still smiling, the girl glanced down at the book. There was another slippery feeling of magic, and the cover flipped over by itself, the thick pages quickly ruffling by. Then they stopped, the book splayed open, and the thing slid back to her.

After another long breath, trying not to freak out, Lily looked over at the displayed page. She recognised this section. At the back was a list of gods — the book usually called them "Aspects" but that's what they were — and a few of the more important demigods, just a quick list of things they'd done, only a page or two each. Lily found the title at the top of the page after a second, read it aloud. ' _Nemesis Adresteia, Aspect of Just Retribution.'_

The odd girl lifted a hand, wiggling her fingers in the air in a little wave. 'Pleased to meet you, Lily Evans.'

'I...' Lily had to swallow again, glanced down toward the book. She wasn't reading it, just looking away from the girl, the girl who was apparently a... 'Are you really?'

'Yes.' She said it so calm, so simple. As though what she was saying wasn't completely insane.

Lily had no idea what to think about this. No idea at all, not really. While her thoughts were bouncing confusingly in her head, making her feel far too dizzy for how she was just sitting here, she stumbled on something, blinked up at her. 'So...when you said your mother keeps putting those flowers on your head, you meant...'

A childishly annoyed look, almost a pout, crossed the girl's face. 'Yes, she always does do that. She managed to catch me on my way out  _again_ ,' she muttered, poking at the ring of green and white on her head. 'But, if you were asking if I meant the one you call Aphrodite, yes, I did. Though, she's not truly my mother, of course.'

It took a moment for Lily to find her voice again. That was the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. A bloody  _goddess_ , who had to be  _thousands_  of years old...sitting there pouting. She had no idea what to think about this. 'Erm, she's not?'

The girl gave a little shrug. 'None of us have parents. Well, most of us, anyway. We are not  _born_  in a sense you would recognise, but coalesce into being out of...' She trailed off, her hand waving little circles in the air. 'Well, let's just say  _magic_. It's complicated. Those of us associated with less civilised, less intellectual aspects of humanity, we tend to be a bit unreasoning the first few decades, even centuries, after we come into being. So, to make sure they don't make too much of a mess of things, one or more of our number will keep an eye on the new arrival, until they're more stable. Usually, we remain close, even millennia later. For me, that was the one you know as Aphrodite. And she's quite the meddler, she never leaves me alone.'

'Okay.' She didn't think she really got all that, but okay. This was all just so... _weird_. She didn't... 'This is really happening, right?' She just got a look at that, so she shrugged, trying not to shrink into her chair too much. 'I mean, you're really... I'm not just imagining all this? You're not just messing with me?'

Still just calmly smiling at her, the girl said, 'No, I'm not just messing with you. No, you're not just imagining this. Yes, I really am divine.' She gave another light shrug. 'Although your impression of what that means is probably incorrect, that isn't really important right now. I am very old and I am very powerful. Let's just leave it at that, for the moment. And I know it may be difficult for you to believe, but that's alright. I don't expect you to simply take me at my word, and I'm not about to take too much effort to convince you. You will understand in time.'

Well. Okay. That was a bit odd. But she guessed... She guessed it didn't really matter. It didn't matter so much what she was. She'd helped with Mister Snape, and she wasn't going to hurt her so...she could mostly just not worry about that, right now. There was one thing she was still wondering about, though. 'But... Okay, but, why did you help Severus?'

She gave Lily a look. She wasn't sure exactly what kind of look, but definitely a  _look_ , staring intently at her, it was a bit unnerving. 'I didn't help Severus.'

'Erm...'

'I helped  _you_ , Lily Evans. Not Severus. He and his mother had already surrendered. They had given up, broken before that monster of a man. They no longer called to me. But you,  _you_...' Mostly the girl's voice was flat, calm, but here there was actually something on it. Lily couldn't say what it was, but something there made her voice seem more...alive? 'I didn't hear them, but I heard  _you_. Your spirit crying out to me. It was  _you_  who felt furious and helpless,  _you_  who were filled with that righteous rage,  _you_  who wanted more than anything in that moment to be able to do  _something_ ,  _anything_.' She shook her head. 'I didn't come to help him. I came to help you.'

Lily had to think about that a moment. There was a point to it, she guessed. Missus Snape and Severus had always seemed so...defeated. They never seemed to get angry about it. And there she had been, so  _angry_  and  _frustrated_  and  _scared_ , she hadn't even been able to control her magic, she'd had to go somewhere alone to try to calm down. And she'd been there, pacing and fuming and hitting and burning things, when a goddess of "just retribution", whatever that meant, had apparently heard her, and came to help her fix it.

She wasn't sure if she should feel thankful, that she'd come to help when Lily didn't even know she existed, or a bit creeped out, that she didn't even need to be anywhere near her to hear Lily's thoughts.

'What now?' The question came out without Lily really meaning to ask it. It was a good question though, so she just sat and waited.

She didn't have to wait, though, the girl answered straight away. 'Nothing. You please me, Lily Evans. There are things I can teach you, things I can show you. Magics, I'm sure much of that you will find very interesting. Continue to please me, and I would be happy to help you learn whatever you wish.'

There was that urge to swallow again. Not at anything she'd said, exactly, just... 'What happens if I  _stop_  pleasing you?'

She shrugged. 'I leave, and never return. Unlike many of my kind, I am not easy to offend. Do not threaten me or mine, do not abuse the knowledge or power I give you, and you have nothing to fear from me.'

Lily was still confused. She was still scared. But...this didn't sound too bad. Just, don't make the  _bloody goddess_  angry and she could learn cool magic stuff! Sounded great, to her. Maybe not tell her parents though? There was that whole Jesus thing, that might be awkward. Although, come to think of it, she'd never been sure what to think about Jesus stuff, but now that she knew some gods  _definitely_  existed, or maybe definitely something like them, she might have to rethink that. But yeah, sure. Magic lessons from a  _goddess_. She could do that.

There was one problem, though. 'What do I call you?' The young-looking not-girl blinked across the table at her. 'Well, it's just, saying  _Nemesis Adresteia_  every time would be a mouthful.'

A smile on her lips again, she said, 'I don't care. I've had many names. Just make something up.'

Lily slumped against the table, letting out what she knew was a very childish moan. 'But I'm  _terrible_  at naming things!'

The goddess just smiled at her.

* * *

Lily stepped out of the Gryffindor Common Room. Not into the main body of the castle, not up to the dorms, but out onto a narrow balcony, hugged curling around the tower. She glanced around quick, just to be sure nobody was around. It was late, she'd waited for everyone to go to bed, but you never know. 'Millie?'

'I am here, Lily Evans.'

She forced herself not to jump, to not show any surprise at the appearance of the voice, turned to find Millie sitting easily on the balustrade. She hadn't been there a second ago, of course — Millie had made something of a game of never appearing when and where Lily was looking, trying to get a reaction out of her, she guessed. Lily had been badly startled the first few times, but she was used to it by now. 'So you can get through the wards.' Lily had been wondering about that. Talking about different sorts of wards, Millie had said there were a very small number that could keep even her kind out; she'd also said Hogwarts had very impressive wards. She'd never said one way or the other if the Hogwarts wards would be a problem for her, but she had casually talked about meeting up while Lily was at school, so she hadn't thought they would be.

Millie gave her a thin, crooked smile, her head tilting a bit. Maybe it was her imagination, but Lily thought Millie's expressions had been slowly growing more...human, she supposed, the more time she spent with her. She assumed Millie must have just recently spent some time away from mortals, forgetting how to act like one in the meantime, but she'd never asked. There were a lot of things she just didn't ask about, never seemed quite her place. 'The wards around Hogwarts are mostly intent-based. Even should they be sensitive enough to detect my presence, and powerful enough to repel me, since I conceptualise my intentions as benevolent I would pass through unimpeded in any case. Though, it doesn't hurt the wards have been neglected since last I've been here.' She nodded over her shoulder, eyes tipping up to the sky. 'Take a look.'

Lily didn't hesitated for a second, walking up to the balustrade right next to Millie. She didn't look up at the sky immediately, watching Millie instead. Now that she knew to look, it could be a bit unnerving sometimes just how still Millie could be. Not that that was surprising, when she thought about it — it wasn't like Millie needed to breathe. Of course, it also somewhat bothered her that Millie kept gradually aging herself up as Lily grew older, now looking maybe thirteen or so, the barest hint of incipient curves visible through the same shimmering shirt and trousers she always wore, but that was another thing Lily just didn't ask about.

Shaking her short distraction off, Lily turned up to the sky. With the smallest force of effort, she pushed things in her head around, bringing a certain part up to the front. Millie had found out almost right away Lily had a latent magesight ability, strong enough it probably would have activated later in her life all on its own — apparently, the ability was not uncommon in mages, just the specific circumstances required to activate it were far more rare. Millie, being a bloody goddess and all, had been able to switch it on for her pretty easily. It was just a matter of concentration, like refocusing her eyes, to bring the swirling rainbow glow of the wards into sight, extending in a big dome over the grounds.

After a moment of staring, she said, 'What am I looking for?' She didn't see anything wrong herself. They hadn't had much opportunity to study wards, sure, but if there were something wrong with them she would expect...holes, or something. She didn't know. They looked perfectly bright and solid to her.

In that soft, gentle tone Lily thought of as her teacher voice, Millie said, 'Fix your eyes on a single point. Find some feature you can focus on. And wait.'

Though she wasn't entirely sure where this was going, not that she often did, Lily did as commanded, finding a spot where a bit of yellow ran into a bit of purple. It was shifting back and forth a little, yes, but the sharp, jagged shape was distinctive enough she could keep it in sight pretty easily. And then... It was hard to explain, exactly. There was a shiver, the patterns on the surface vibrating, as though disturbed by a rock thrown into a pond. When the ripples passed, she couldn't help a surprised blink: the shape the yellow and purple spot made was different. Very slightly different, but it was noticeable. 'What  _is_  that?'

'Interference. Someone hasn't been maintaining the wards properly, hasn't been rebalancing them to account for the slow shifts in the ambient magic of the valley over the centuries. They haven't collapsed entirely, but they are significantly weaker than I remember them. Far less impressive than I've led you to believe, I'm afraid, certainly that.

'Now, you had a reason to call me, so suddenly on your first night truly in the magical world. I would figure you would be up in your room with your new classmates, talking about...' Lily turned in time to catch Millie's hand turning in a lazy gesture. '...whatever it is little mortal girls talk about.'

Lily didn't think there would be much point in saying she wasn't entirely sure what  _little mortal girls talk about_  herself. She had the feeling she'd always been a bit strange, but she was starting to think spending so much time with Millie from so young was changing her. Not in a bad way, of course. But people were changed by their experiences, and she'd been learning and doing all kinds of interesting new things, and for all that she was millennia older than her Millie was, by some irony, the only person in her life who didn't treat her like a child. So, she'd expect it was very possible she wouldn't be like other children by this point. And besides, 'I know you know already.'

And Millie just smiled at her. The fact that Millie knew everything she was thinking at all times was something they usually didn't directly speak of. Lily wondered if Millie thought that was funny. 'I suppose I do. But it's far more polite to let you say it.'

True, she guessed. Whatever. 'What's a Prophet?'

'You know about the Conclave of Akkad?'

Lily blinked at that. The question in response to her question was smooth and easy, for all the world sounding as though she'd actually answered, and not just changed the subject. But Lily was used to Millie doing things like this, so she went with it. 'A little bit. I don't know many details.' Millie just raised an expectant eyebrow, so Lily thought for a moment, trying to remember what she'd read in one of the many magical books Millie had smuggled into her house. 'After the Partition of Crete, a long time ago. The Divine had decided for some reason, not sure why, that they were doing more harm to the world than good. So at Akkad, which is a city, they met in the physical world in numbers never seen before or since, and made an agreement to no longer act here directly. They could guide, they could empower, but they could do nothing directly.'

Millie nodded. 'An adequate summary. The law is somewhat more complex than simply not intervening in the physical world. There are some contextual exemptions — if certain interests of ours are threatened, we can act. We may still take mortal lovers and beget mortal children, though there are rules limiting our involvement in such situations. It is all a bit tedious, but the agreement we made at the Conclave is the only law we truly observe. Breaking the terms could draw the enmity of others of our kind, a risky proposition.

'The aid we may give mortals is far more limited than once it was. Certain blessings have been banned, most forms of direct intervention on behalf of our favourites. However, we can still teach. We can appear to whomever we like, and tell them whatever we like. We will often come to someone who appeals to us in one way or another, and teach them to further reflect ourselves, for one purpose or another. For convenience, such people are called Prophets.'

Well, that was more or less what Lily had expected. She bit her lip, glancing between the goddess at her side, the glimmering of the wards in the night sky. She remembered Millie, her rather irreverent nickname for Nemesis Adresteia, first appearing to her, years ago now. She had come to help her get rid of Sev's abusive father. She hadn't come to help Sev, she'd said, but  _Lily_  — it was Lily who had called to her. Nemesis Adresteia, an Aspect of the Divine the mages associated with revolt against those who use their authority unjustly, retribution against those who have perpetrated crimes against the helpless, justice for those who have broken their oaths.

Sev and his mother, they had been the victims in the situation. The ones treated unjustly, the helpless crimes had been perpetrated upon, those harmed by the breaking of an oath. But Millie hadn't come to them. She'd come to Lily. And she'd helped her punish him. Not them. Her.

She remembered just a couple hours ago, with that silly Hat on her head, all eyes in the glittering Great Hall upon her. Its voice sharp in her mind,  _It has been some time since I've had the pleasure of Sorting a Prophet, you see_.

It took a long time for Lily to ask the question. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. Finally, she found her voice, but it still came out softer than she would like, a low whisper. 'Am I your Prophet? Is that why you're teaching me?'

She glanced over at Millie to see her smiling. Expressions always looked slightly wrong on Millie. She couldn't even say exactly how, it just felt off. As though she weren't human, but something  _else_  assuming the form of one, simulating humanity with somewhat less than perfect accuracy. An impression which she knew was entirely correct. 'In the end, Lily Evans, that is up to you. I cannot force you to serve me. Even if it were not a violation of our agreement at the Conclave, I would not — doing such a thing would be just as much a violation of who  _I_ am. And it is not why I teach you. I do that because you please me, and empowering you gives you greater and broader opportunity to further please me.

'However, should you decide one day that that  _is_  what you want, well...' Millie shrugged. 'I would be glad to call you mine. But that is not a conversation for today. You are young, yet, to be dedicating yourself to anything. We may just speak of it again, when you are a woman grown. Until then, let it rest.'

Lily thought she could maybe live with that. For now. Maybe.

Though, honestly, she didn't think she'd be opposed to the idea. She meant, the idea of, er, dedicating herself to Mille, she thought that was how she was supposed to say it, the  _idea_  was sort of scary. What Millie was was scary, it was such an enormous...concept, she guessed, that this girl was a  _bloody goddess_. It'd been years, and she still wasn't used to it, it was  _weird_. She tried to avoid thinking about it most of the time, it was just too...big. The  _idea_  of dedicating herself to Millie, or any other of her kind, it was just a scary thought. A changing-her-whole-life-irreversibly sort of scary. But when it came down to it...

Well, she'd thought it to herself just a moment ago, hadn't she? Revolt against those who use their authority unjustly. Retribution against those who perpetrate crimes against the helpless. Justice for those who have broken their oaths.

She was young, still, yes, it would be foolish to decide before she was old enough to really know what she was talking about. But those all sounded like good things, to her. She didn't think she'd have a problem with...doing that, for the rest of her life. Doing Prophet things. That didn't sound terrible.

The thought was still scary as hell, though.

**Author's Note:**

> _And there is...probably a little less than half of the prologue to this fic. The fic itself mostly deals with the Girl-Who-Lived, this is just an establishing bit._
> 
> _"Millie" is loosely based on the minor Greek goddess Adresteia — the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite associated with revolt, not any of the several other figures with the epithet. The concept of the fic itself was inspired by a Percy Jackson crossover I read. This is **not** , however, a crossover itself. For one thing, I've never read those books, and I'm playing  **very**  fast and loose with mythology in general. To put it briefly, the various gods are cultural interpretations of the Aspects — different cultures worship the same Aspect by a variety of names with a variety of expressions, but the Aspect itself is unchanged, all and none of them. Myths give a framework to talk about them in a way that's easy to understand, but don't perfectly encapsulate them._
> 
> _By the admission that this was inspired by Percy Jackson might imply, yes, "Millie" is the GWL's...not-father, I suppose, magic is weird. As you might expect, that ends up fucking with the canon plot quite a bit. I'll be abandoning it almost entirely in fifth year, in fact._
> 
> _I do like this story, but who knows if I'll ever get to it. And yes, I realise I say that about almost everything._


End file.
